“DualXcluder® Protection Screen solved our major problem”

Arctic Paper Munkedals AB

“DualXcluder® Protection Screen solved our major problem”

“We quickly discovered that we could run our stock preparation equipment trouble-free much longer after we got rid of the baling wire with the DualXcluder® protection screen delivered by GL&V. This stage, stock preparation for the paper machine, is essential for our entire production process. The pulp on our multi-grade machines must be clean, since challenging grade changes take place constantly,” says Operations Manager Jonas Schmachtl, Arctic Paper Munkedals AB, Sweden.

“Our customers expect top quality paper products and fast deliveries from us. We have plenty of traditional competence in the industry, which we have developed together with our customers. Our two paper machines are tailored for quick grade changes and for producing our high-quality core products in the extensive grammage range of 60–240 gsm.”

Arctic Paper means qualityArctic Paper S.A. is a leading European producer of high quality Graphic Paper. The company delivers over 700 000 tonnes of premium Graphic Paper for quality printing, reading and branding purposes. The products are manufactured and marketed by 1250 employees, three mills and 14 sales offices.

Arctic Paper S.A Group have many years of expertise in making Fine Paper. Arctic Paper Grycksbo in Sweden began in 1740. Arctic Paper Munkedals AB, in Sweden as well, was established in 1871 and the mill in Kostrzyn Poland in 1958.

Arctic Paper Munkedals AB is located in Munkedal, Sweden, which is 100 kilometres North of Gothenburg. It is situated by the Örekil River, which is considered to be one of the country’s finest salmon rivers. During the last 20 years there have been major investments, and the company values that the mill today is one of the most environmentally-friendly paper mills in the world. With approximately 300 employees and two paper machines Arctic Paper Munkedals AB produces some 160 000 ton/year high quality graphical paper under the brand name Munken and Amber.

Munkedals is not an integrated paper mill, which means that the hardwood and softwood pulp is brought to the mill by trucks in bales tied with metal wires. Before the introduction of the protection screen, some the wires were removed before and into the pulper. The hydrocyclones also removed some of them, but the remaining wires damaged the segments of the conical refiners.

In 2010, Munkedals contacted GL&V in order to solve the problem. That is when Kari Urholm, Sales Engineer for the Dual-Xcluder protection screen product group, paid his first visit to the mill.

“Tommy Ekström, who was in charge of production at the time, was very agitated since it was a major problem. Baling wires were ending up in the production process, and the mill urgently needed a solution. They had already invested in a dewiring machine, but it didn’t work as expected,” says Urholm.

GL&V was not able to deliver an immediate solution either.

“We wanted to be absolutely sure that our protection screen would work perfectly with the set operational and quality targets. We also didn’t want to sell the device to just any production process – we wanted to make sure that the device is used in the right process to do the job it was developed for,” Urholm continues.

GL&V spent a couple of years developing the design and functions of the DualXcluder protection screen. During this period, GL&V completely changed the original design of the protection screen, which derived from technology that was transferred to GL&V from outside the company.

“Since we were familiar with Munke-dals’s problems, we were more than ready to solve the mill’s problem. When I returned to Munkedals, I was able to say that we now have a safe solution for removing the baling wires,” Urholm recounts.

Munkedals purchased the first Dual-Xcluder protection screen in 2015 and a second, identical, one in spring 2017. Munkedals now uses protection screen to remove baling wires on the stock lines of both of their paper machines.

Munkedals must have been very pleased with the first DualXcluder protection screen, since they decided to acquire another one for the second paper machine. “Indeed. Thanks to the DualXcluder protection screens, we can run the refiners much longer due to the reduced need for maintenance. The effective removal of wires also helps maintain the condition of the valves. When we got our first protection screen, it proved to be so reliable and effective that, after operating it for a year, we decided to buy another one for our second paper machine,” says Munkedals’s Operations Manager Jonas Schmachtl.

DualXcluder protection screen works perfectly in removing baling wires. The cost savings created by avoiding damage to the refiners and rolls are substantial.

Previously, the refiner segments had to be refurbished every six months, but now it is necessary only every two-and-a-half years.

Initially, the wipers that clean the screens of the DualXcluder protection screen had to be changed at three-month intervals, but now it’s done every six months. In addition to the baling wire, the wipers remove all other tramp material from the screen.

GL&V’s Sales Engineer Kari Urholm confirms that he has heard similar testimonies from other customers, too.

“Several of my customers have acquired the protection screen. Based on my mill visits, I can say that customers have only one thing to say about the effective removal of baling wire with the DualXcluder protection screen: ‘Why haven’t we made this purchase earlier!’. My customers also really appreciate the low power consumption of the protection screen’s drive, which is only 7.5 kW. The power consumption of a standard screen is in the range of 50 to 60 kW,” says Urholm.

“Energy consumption is monitored continuously and over a long term at our mill, and environmental aspects are a priority for us. In this respect, it is great that our latest DualXcluder protection screen uses less energy than the first one, although the energy costs caused by it are also minimal,” adds Schmachtl.

DualXcluder® Protection ScreenProactive Equipment Protection

The protection screen protects downstream refiners, cleaners and other equipment from damage caused by baling wire, metals, tiles and other heavy contaminants in recycled and virgin pulp applications. The DualXcluder protection screen is a barrier screen efficiently removing contaminants larger than screen cylinder apertures, which can be slots as small as 1.5 mm or holes as small as 3 mm, depending on the application. The machine is intended to replace traditional High-Density cleaners, magnetic traps and trash screens.

Inline Protection ScreenThe separator can operate at up to 5% consistency and is available in four sizes depending on the stock type, flow volume, and screen aperture. The pulp flow enters the machine tangentially and passes through the screen cylinder from outside in. Rejects unable to physically pass through the openings are separated into a trap supplied with the unit that is emptied automatically on a timed cycle. Dilution is introduced into the rejects trap to minimize good fibre loss. Accepted tock exits the machine axially from inside the screen cylinder.